John Amos

John Allen Amos Jr. was an American actor. He was best known for his role as James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series Good Times. His other well known roles were as the adult Kunta Kinte in the landmark miniseries Roots and for portraying Captain Meissner in Lock Up and Major Grant in Die Hard 2. His other television work includes The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a recurring role as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on The West Wing, and the role of the Mayor of Washington DC Ethan Baker in the series The District. Amos was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and an NAACP Image Award. In film, he played numerous supporting roles in movies such as The Beastmaster, Coming to America, and Coming 2 America.

Early life

John Allen Amos Jr. was born in Newark, New Jersey on December 27, 1939. He was the son of John A. Amos Sr., an auto mechanic, and Annabelle Amos. Amos grew up in East Orange, New Jersey, and graduated from East Orange High School in 1958. He attended Long Beach City College and graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in sociology; he played for both schools' football teams.
Amos worked as a social worker in New York City.

American Football career

In 1964, Amos signed a free agent contract with the Denver Broncos of the American Football League. Unable to run the 40-yard dash because of a pulled hamstring, he was released on the second day of training camp. He played for various teams during his career, the Canton Bulldogs, Joliet Chargers, Norfolk Neptunes, Wheeling Ironmen, Jersey City Jets, Waterbury Orbits, and the Victoria Steelers. In 1967, Amos signed a free agent contract with the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs. Coach Hank Stram told him, "You're not a football player, you're a man who is trying to play football."

Acting career

Amos became first known in 1971 when he appeared with Anson Williams in a commercial for McDonald's. That same year, he had a small part in the cult film Vanishing Point, playing a radio engineer alongside Cleavon Little.
Amos' first major TV role was as Gordy Howard, the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, from 1970 until 1973. After the death of Betty White in 2021, Amos and Joyce Bulifant were the last surviving cast members of the show, excluding child actors.

''Good Times''

Amos is best known for his portrayal of James Evans Sr., the husband of Florida Evans, on the American sitcom Good Times. He had previously appeared in the same role three times on the sitcom Maude before continuing it in 61 episodes of Good Times. Although cast as a hardworking middle-aged father of three, Amos was 34 when the show began production in January 1974; he was only eight years older than the actor who played his oldest son, Jimmie Walker, and 19 years younger than his screen wife, Esther Rolle. Like Rolle, Amos wanted to portray a positive image of an African-American family struggling against the odds in a poor neighborhood, but he expressed dissatisfaction after he saw the premise slighted by a lower level of comedy on Good Times.
During his tenure on the sitcom, Amos openly clashed with the writers of the show, pointing to the scripts' lack of authenticity in portraying the African-American experience. He notably criticized what he felt was too much of an emphasis on Jimmie Walker's character J.J. and a lesser regard for the other two Evans children. He also criticized J.J.'s stereotypical buffoonish personality. This led to his dismissal by executive producer Norman Lear at the end of season 3 in 1976. In a 2017 interview, Amos said that the sitcom's writers did not understand African Americans. He told them, "That just doesn't happen in the community. We don't think that way. We don't act that way. We don't let our children do that." His character was killed off by the writers, leading to a memorable scene in which his screen wife, Rolle, screamed, “Damn! Damn! Damn!”

Films, music, and other TV roles

In 1977, Amos starred in the ABC-TV Miniseries Roots, as the adult Kunta Kinte, based on the book by author Alex Haley. In 1980, he starred in the television film Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story. Amos played an Archie Bunker-style character in the 1994 sitcom 704 Hauser, a modern spin-off of All in the Family, but it was canceled after only five episodes. He also portrayed Captain Dolan on the TV show Hunter from 1984 to 1985. He co-starred in the CBS police drama The District. Amos was a frequent guest on The West Wing, portraying Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, who serves as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for most of the show. He played Buzz Washington in the ABC series Men in Trees. Amos co-starred with Anthony Anderson in the short-lived TV series All About the Andersons from 2003 to 2004. In 2010, Amos also appeared as recurring character Ed on Two and a Half Men, and in 2016 as another recurring character, also named Ed, on the Netflix sitcom The Ranch. He guest-starred in a number of other television shows, including Police Story, The A-Team, The Cosby Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, In the House, Martin as Sgt. Hamilton Strawn, Touched by an Angel, Psych, Sanford and Son, My Name Is Earl, Lie to Me, and Murder, She Wrote. He
also appeared as a spokesman for the Cochran Firm.
Amos wrote and produced Halley's Comet, a critically acclaimed one-man play that he performed around the world. Amos performed in August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean on Broadway and later at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey.
Amos was featured in Disney's The World's Greatest Athlete with Tim Conway and Jan-Michael Vincent in his first starring film role, and also starred as Kansas City Mack in Let's Do It Again with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier. His other film appearances include Vanishing Point, The President's Plane Is Missing, Touched by Love, The Beastmaster, Dance of the Dwarfs, American Flyers, Coming to America, Lock Up, Two Evil Eyes, Die Hard 2, and Ricochet.
He appeared in the 1995 film For Better or Worse and played a police officer in The Players Club. He played Uncle Virgil in My Baby's Daddy, and starred as Jud in Dr. Dolittle 3. In 2012, Amos had a role in the movie Madea's Witness Protection, as Jake's father. He appeared in Ice Cube and Dr. Dre's 1994 video for "Natural Born Killaz". In 2009, he released We Were Hippies, an album of original country songs by Gene and Eric Cash.
In 2021, Amos starred in Because of Charley, as the patriarch of an estranged step-family riding out Hurricane Charley, the hurricane which tore through Florida in 2004. Also in 2021, he had a role in the Coming to America sequel, Coming 2 America.
Suits LA, the television show in which he made his final acting appearance, paid posthumous tribute to him with an episode entitled "Good Times," in which the characters Ted and Rick attempt to get him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Ted observes, "John Amos was the Sidney Poitier of television. He broke new ground for Black America and he was a father figure for all of America."

Personal life

Amos was a veteran of the 50th Armored Division of the New Jersey National Guard and Honorary Master Chief of the United States Coast Guard. He was married twice. His first marriage, from 1965 to 1975, was to artist and equestrian Noel Mickelson. The couple had two children: Shannon Amos, a writer-producer and the founder of Afterglow Multimedia, LLC, and Grammy-nominated director K.C. Amos. Acrimonious disagreements between Shannon and K.C. Amos over the care given to their parents were documented by The Hollywood Reporter in 2023.
Amos' second marriage, in 1978–79, was to actress Lillian Lehman. He lived for many years in Tewksbury Township, New Jersey. In 2018, he moved to Westcliffe, Colorado, southwest of Pueblo. In 2023, Amos was hospitalized, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation looked into accusations that Amos had been the victim of elder abuse. Amos left Colorado that same year, taking up residency in Los Angeles.

Death

Amos died of congestive heart failure at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, California, on August 21, 2024, at the age of 84. His death was not announced until October 1, 2024. His daughter, Shannon, was unaware that he had died until his death was reported by the media. His body was cremated nine days after his death.

Awards

In addition to receiving an Emmy nomination for Roots, Amos was nominated for a CableACE Award, an NAACP Image Award, and a DVD Exclusive Award. He won three TV Land Awards for his roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Good Times, and Roots.
In 2020, Amos was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.